1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to an apparatus for dispersedly supplying cool air into a freezer compartment of a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a refrigerator having a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment is configured so that cold air which is cooled by a cooler in a cooler chamber is sent through a damper device and a cold air duct to the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment to cool its inner space.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,985 (issued to Sang-Moo Lee on Oct. 14, 1997) discloses a cool air supplying apparatus capable of dispersedly supplying cool air into a refrigerator by use of a swing plate disposed within a cool duct. The cool duct includes a main duct extending through a freezing room and a refrigerating room and at least one sub-duct communicated with the main duct and having a plurality of holes for supplying the cool air. The swing plate is disposed within the sub-duct along its longitudinal direction. A shaft is disposed within the main duct to be capable of reciprocating along its longitudinal direction and is operatively connected with the swing plate. A motor is installed at an upper portion of the main duct, and a crank is operatively connected with each of a rotary shaft of the motor and the shaft. The shaft and the swing plate are operatively connected with each other by means of a protrusion formed at a long side of the swing plate and having an U-shaped groove through which the shaft passes and pairs of collars fixed on the shaft to insert the protrusion therebetween. However, a configuration of a patent of Sang-Moo Lee is different from that of the present invention.
A conventional cool air supply apparatus 10 of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the conventional cool air supply apparatus 10.
The conventional cool air supply apparatus 10 includes a heat insulated housing 102 which constitutes a body of the refrigerator and first and second doors 104 and 106 for opening and closing of the heat insulated housing 102. The heat insulated housing 102 consists of an inner shell 108 made of a synthetic resin, an outer shell 110 made of metal such as a coated steel plate, and a foamed heat insulating material 112 such as foamed polyurethane resin which is filled between the inner and outer shells 108 and 110. The first door 104 is provided for a freezer compartment 114, and the second door 106 is provided for a refrigerating compartment 116.
A louver 118 is disposed at the back of the freezer compartment 114, and a plurality of cool air outlet openings 120 for supplying the cool air are perforated through the louver 118. Behind the louver 118, a cooler chamber 122 is formed. An evaporator 124 such as a cooler is provide inside the cooler chamber 122 and exchanges heat with the air returned to the cooler chamber 122 from the freezer compartment 114 through both an air return outlet opening 136a and a freezing cool air return duct 136 will be described later. An air blower 126 such as a propeller fan is disposed above the evaporator 124 and blows a cool air in a low temperature state generated from the evaporator 124 into an inside of the freezer compartment 114 through the plurality of cool air outlet openings 120.
A cold air duct 128 extends from the freezer compartment 114 to the refrigerating compartment 116 in the longitudinal direction of the refrigerator 100 along the inner wall 129 thereof. In order for the cool air generated from the evaporator 126 to flow, a cool air flow passage is provided from the cold air duct 128 installed with the evaporator 126 therein, which is then communicated with the freezer compartment 114 and the refrigerating compartment 116. The cool air in a low temperature state generated from the evaporator 126 is also supplied to the refrigerating compartment 116 through the cold air duct 128.
A reference numeral 130 designates a horizontal partition for dividing an inner space of the heat insulating housing 102 into two sections, i.e., upper and lower sections. The section over the horizontal partition 130 serves as the freezer compartment 114 that is cooled to a freezing temperature (e.g., about -20.degree. C.), and the section under the horizontal partition 130 serves as the refrigerating compartment 116 that is cooled to a temperature (e.g., about 3.degree. C.) at which foods do not freeze. A first separating plate 132 is installed to the bottom of the freezer compartment 114, and a second separating plate 134 is installed to the top of the refrigerating compartment 116. A freezing cool air return duct 136 is formed between the first separating plate 132 and the horizontal partition 130, and a refrigerating cool air return duct 138 is formed between the horizontal partition 130 and the second separating plate 134.
In regard to an operation of the conventional cool air supply apparatus, cold air cooled by the evaporator 126 is supplied to the freezer compartment 114 via cold air outlet openings 120. The cold air supplied into the freezer compartment 114 is returned to the cooler chamber 116 via the freezing cool air return duct 136. The cool air is again cooled by means of the evaporator 126 so that circulation of the cool air repeats.
However, in the conventional cool air supply apparatus, the cool air cooled by the evaporator 126 is supplied to the freezer compartment 114 from the back of the freezer compartment 114 to the front thereof via the cool air outlet openings 120 which are provided at the partition plate 118. When freezing objects are stored at back side of the freezer compartment 114, the freezing objects block a flow of the cool air. Accordingly, the cool air cannot easily be transmitted to the front of the freezer compartment 114 so that temperature distribution inside the freezer compartment 114 does not become uniform.